


mountains to climb

by chromologix



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, dove is lyra bc that's my trainer name, literally just self indulgence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21804997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromologix/pseuds/chromologix
Summary: Dove keeps finding new heights to aim for, but she's not sure when to come down.So she climbs Mt.Silver hoping for something new and finds Kanto's lost champion atop it.(or, Dove doesn't know what to do after becoming Champion, and discovers that she's not the only one like that.)
Kudos: 8





	mountains to climb

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim, no proofreading whatsoever!  
> It's also been years since I played HGSS, so apologies for inconsistencies.
> 
> (I've been writing non-stop for SWSH and everything else has been a bust, so when I'll pick this up again who knows really)

Sitting on the top of the Indigo Plateau isn't exactly her thing, so she goes to Kanto.

And she tells herself, she'll just try one gym. One Kanto gym, and she'll figure out something else to do. 

So she goes to the one at Pewter gym, gets the badge.  
...and to Cerulean. And to Vermilion. Celadon.  
Until she reaches Viridian Gym, facing a very exasperated former Champion who's looking down at his fallen Rhydon.

"Don't you have school or something to attend to?" Blue sighs, returning his pokemon.

Dove laughs, awkwardly, deciding not to tell him she took a gap year just to face the Kanto circuit.

Because she got all 8 Kanto Badges, she decides to challenge the League again for kicks. (She thought it would be funny.)

The Elite Four don't think as much.

"How are you here again." Lance says to her, after she decimates his Dragonite with Lugia.  
She shrugs. "It seemed like something to do."

So she becomes...Kanto's Champion? No one's really sure but they take it in stride. 

Dove finds herself on the top again and, stumbling through words to a very miffed Lance, she boots herself out of the Plateau before he can plant her firmly in the Champion room.

But it seems like she has a thing for heights.  
Because not too long after, Oak tells her of Mt Silver.

Where no trainer dares tread because of the strong pokemon that dwell on it.  
Only those who beat the Elite Four were allowed access, and even then it's ill-advised.

Dove doesn't think too much as she crosses the border and stares up the mountain.

Her pokemon stand by her side, following her gaze.

The cold wind from the mountain howls around her.

"Let's take the scenic route." She says, and they all trudge on.

Hiking up Mt.Sliver is _hard._  
The snow reaches her knees and she ends up having to ride on the back of Meganium.

Umbreon scouts ahead, his rings flashing in the dark when he scrambles back with a herd of Donphans snapping at his heels.

Between the wild pokemon and the difficult terrain, Dove somehow manages to stumble her way up to the summit.  
It's tempting to just teleport out of there -- Lugia could fly her down, but she's determined to see what's on top of this massive hunk of rock.

There's always bound to be something good here, in an isolated place that barely knows the touch of a human.  
Maybe unidentified pokemon, or an ancient ruin.  
Or--

She freezes.  
There's a figure in front of her.

Amidst the howling wind and flurry of ice that fogs her vision, she is certain that there's a _human_ on the mountain.

The Pikachu perched on his shoulder notices her first, cheeks sparking with a warning.  
He pauses, and turns to see what spooked his pokemon.

Dove can't say she didn't expect to see another person, in fact, there's a strange sort of relief that comes with it.

But this? Is just--

"A-are you...by chance...Champion Red?"

He doesn't grace her a response, only instead pulling the pokeballs from his belt.

\--

"No."

Red blinks at her. So does his Pikachu.

"I-I'm, not ready, and I'm not here to battle, just to see what's on-- the mountain-- and I found you and my job is done so um, um...bye!"

She whips out Lugia's pokeball, who only stares at Red, bored, as she boards their back. He doesn't even look a bit fazed.

Lugia takes off, cutting through the powerful winds atop the mountain and gliding down on the drafts, frills positioned so that Dove wouldn't go flying off.

She takes a deep breath when she's at the bottom, sliding off Lugia, who curls into a crouch patiently.

Dove doesn't move for a second, processing her shock, before taking out her Pokegear and typing furiously to Blue.

_"WHY IS YOUR FRIEND ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN."_

\--

"Aw, you ran?" He says after slurping obnoxiously on a fruit shake. "Thought it would have been interesting to see the outcome of that battle."

Dove wonders what sane person would accept a challenge from a 20-year-old hobo stuck atop a mountain.

She says that out loud (nicely), and Blue is quick to counter with how she can't qualify as sane if she brought down a criminal organization to its knees single-handedly.

"You're both alike that way, sticking your nose into everything even if it doesn't concern you." He mutters.

"And you don't, Mr. Smell-ya-later?"

"...you want to fight, kid?"

One battle later, with Dove emerging as winner again.

"Why is he...you know, there?" She asks after they healed their pokemon.

Blue shrugs, attempting for nonchalance but failing miserably.  
"Dunno, he wanted to train or something. Looking for a challenge, maybe."

He scratches the back of his head, not looking at her.  
"I never really know what goes on in his head." He mutters under his breath, and Dove's not sure if she's supposed to hear it.

"Oh."

They sit in silence for a while, before she speaks up again.

"How long has he been up there?"

Another shrug, though this time his eyes dart back to her, suspicious.

"A few years, give or take."

"Do you think, he'll come down if I beat him?"

\--

Dove loses to Red, badly.

\--

She has never really lost before.

Defeat is not a new thing to her, but it's been a while since she felt that helpless.

Pigeot manages to carry her back to the Pokemon Center by Victory Road, exhausted by the fight and strong winds.  
Dove promises her pokeblocks before she bumbles into the center and hastily retrieves the rest of her pokemon for the nurse to tend to.

_Strong. Strong. Strong._

Red displayed a strength that chilled her right down to the bone.  
But the sight of him on the mountain top also seemed so...lonely.

Dove wants to do something, because she knows she can. And exactly because she can, she's going to do it.

How many trainers can scale Mt.Silver, after all?

\--

She holds out a sack towards him, determined even though she's trembling.

Red takes a step back, blinking twice, while his Pikachu sniffs it curiously.

"It's supplies! Dry food, a rechargeable radio, some batteries, and a first aid kit." She stammers out.

Red doesn't make a move to take it, only staring blankly at her. She's starting to feel the cold, so she shifts her one feet to the other until it's clear he's not going to do anything.

"Okay, I'm just, gonna." She plops the bag on the ground. " Leave this here. And I will-"

He pats the pokeballs on his belt.

Dove takes a moment to realize what he's asking.  
She laughs, nervously.

"I guess, um, sure. If that's what you want..."

\--

After a few defeats atop Mt.Silver, Dove decides to fall back on other training partners before she attempts to challenge Red again.

The Elite Four, in particular, receives the brunt of her thrashing.

Lance puts his hands together and breathes in, before exhaling noisily. His pokemon regard her warily as if she put them through some kind of special hell.

"Is this your way of saying we're not paying you enough." He asks. Karen pours coffee for everyone and he accepts it gratefully.  
(After a moment's deliberation, as if torn about doing something nice to the person she lost to, she whips up a hot chocolate for Dove too.)

"Huhwah-- No!" Dove forgot her Ampharos still had the Amulet coin around his neck, actually.  
"It's just, there's someone I want to beat and I needed all the practice I could get."

This catches his attention.

"And who's this mystery trainer that's got you so worked up?"

Dove swings her legs idly, suddenly sheepish.

"Um, Red..."

Lance stares at her an uncomfortably long period of time, gulps down his coffee in one go and groans.

\--

Dove freaks out the next time Red disappears.

Some part of her just...expects to see him standing at the summit every time she's over.  
It's dumb, but he managed to do it every other time, so why is it different now?

After running a frantic circle around the mountain top with her pokemon, she very strongly considers informing Blue that _his hobo friend is missing and probably finally dead in a ditch_ when her Typhlosion cries out.

She dashes towards her, skidding down a hidden path that opens up to a generously sized cavern.  
Red sits by a campfire, boiling water over a worn cast-pot as his Charizard and Pikachu watches idly.

Dove registers the instant-noodle pack he opened is the one she brought up, and feels proud for a moment before yelling:  
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD."

Red visibly winces from her volume, while his pokemon shoots her disapproving looks.  
Dove immediately feels terrible.

"Ah--crap. Sorry, I was worried when I didn't see you. I'm sorry for dist-turbing you so I'll just-- go--"

A sharp tap of a plastic spoon against a rim stops her. Dove turns back to see surprise flash briefly across Red's face as he holds the spoon rigidly, but it quickly disappears.  
He presses his mouth into a thin line as he grimaces; she could see the gears turning in his mind.  
And, then he looks up at her, his Charizard scooting it's tail over as if inviting her to sit.

"O-oh. Sure." She says dumbly, and plops herself down.

Red regards her for a moment, before returning to his meal. The aroma of instant-noodles is starting to make her hungry, but she's not about to ask caveman here for his finite resources.

Typhlosion winds around Dove, keeping her eyes firmly on the Pikachu.  
She stares back, tail still.

Charizard calmly breathes a stream of fire into the waning embers.

Okayyyyyyy. This is bizarre.

Dove manages to stay quiet, fiddling with her hands while Red slurps up his noodles (so he remembers how to use chopsticks. Huh.)  
she doesn't realize she's asleep by the time he's finished.

\--

The visits to Red are frequent enough that Dove can see him start to expect her.  
He doesn't always let her stay, when he has his bad days, but she appreciates that her presence is tolerated.

And Dove learns a few things about him.

1\. Red has to be approached like a Pokemon.  
2\. He contacts a total of three people; Dove, Blue, and his mother.  
3\. If you can't decipher him, look at his team. They embody their trainer.

Communicating never quite gets easier.  
Dove is quiet by default, so having to carry an entire conversation herself was hard to get used to.

Red also doesn't enjoy it when she tries to question him, so she speaks about herself.

"These are the badges I got." She tells him one day, opening her badge case to reveal two full sets of KanJoh pins.  
Red doesn't react much, though she sees a glimmer of interest in his dark eyes.

"I, actually wasn't planning to go for Kanto's circuit. But once I started I couldn't stop!" She chuckles, even though it sounds hollow.  
"Lance was pretty exasperated when got to his stage at the League. 'You again!' he told me. And I wiped his team clean out."

Dove leans back against Meganium, who seems content just being in the presence of another grass type pokemon. Venusaur snoozes softly next to him.

"But um, I didn't really know what to do after that. Being Champion was never my goal, I like battling, but that was just, something I could do, so I did. Lance wants me to take his place as Champion, since he was just filling up for um--" _You._ "Anyway, he wanted me to do that, and I said no."  
"So he asked me if I wanted to continue my studies instead, and Blue asked too. Because it's kinda weird right, a 14-year-old who's not challenging the Gym circuit not going to school."

"So um, yeah. I've been in a bit of a pickle. Deciding what the next step is."

Red stares at her, and Dove realizes she blurted out everything that's been weighing in her chest.

"A-ah!! I didn't mean to say all of that, it sorta just--came out. And I think, it's time for me to go? I'm gonna, go-"

Red shoves his Pokegear at her before she can run out of the cave. He points at it firmly.  
Dove sees that it's opened to a new contact page.

"Okay. Um. Yea sure." She fumbles a bit with the gear and types in her number.  
Hastily, she gives it back to Red.

"I'm!! Off!!" She manages to squeak.

Red doesn't stop her, but Dove swears for a moment, he seemed thoughtful.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been stuck on how to continue, even if I know how it'll end.  
> Still, thanks for reading if you made it this far!


End file.
